All of us are starting to feel the wear and tear of PA school. All of us are starting to not study as hard for exams, not because we don't care, but because we are just physically and mentally exhausted.

I know for a fact I don't study as hard, but I have also been doing really well this semester. Maybe I am just feeling more comfortable taking tests now. I remember the way I felt before I would take a test, the way that the anxiety would creep in every crevice of my body. The way I would pray before each exam with my neighbor that sits to my right. I still do pray, and I am sure she does too, it's kind of our ritual. Sometimes we do it together, sometimes we don't.

I had a reader recently asked me if my faith has helped me through school. I definitely know so. Without Christ in my life, I would be nothing. He was the one that opened the door for me to get into PA school. I didn't have the most spectacular GPA, or even GRE score. I know people that have had same scores of mine or even better, and didn't get into PA school. This is how I know I belong in PA school, because I was put here for a reason. I thought I would be a lot more stressed while I was in PA school, but I honestly think the lord has protected my heart and brain. Yes, I have been through a lot this past almost year, but I have made it. I've made it through those hard times and I have also had some really happy times too! I take the good with the bad or vice versa.

We had two exams this week Pharm III and Emergency medicine. I think I have 11 more exams this semester which includes finals. I am almost at the end of the tunnel for didactic year!

For the rest of the week, I need to practice my physical exam as we are being tested on it on Thursday...I am not too worried about it. This is probably the 5th or 6th time I have had to do this in front of a professor. Friday, I have a SOAP note due for a patient I saw at the veterans hospital last week.

Tonight, I will be going back to the studio to finish up Cory's Dance Piece I am working on. If I can, I will post the finished product either on here, or I will upload it to youtube for you guys to see. :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

One month ago today, I lost my ex to a motorcycle accident. There isn't a day that goes by that I dont think about him. I miss him terribly. "I believe in my heart that God has a reason for everything that happens in our life whether it be good or bad. God permits us to go through many trials that we may look to Him for healing and comfort. We are to glorify His name through the healing." -Cory. Missing you angel ♥

I have started to miss him more and more this past week. Even when he was alive, we didn't talk every day. That was okay though. It was understood he was in a new relationship, and I respected that. But, it doesn't mean that I ever stopped caring for him. I will always always have a place for Cory in my heart because I loved him.

I go on and try to not be sad because I know he is in heaven and that puts me at peace. There were many conversations that Cory and I had about death because he had cancer. I know he wasn't afraid of death. I know that he looked forward to the day he would go and live with Jesus in heaven. I know he is happy there, free of pain, chemo, and cancer.

I am in my 6th week of summer semester. The semester is a total of 10 weeks plus 3 days of finals. Wow, i'm less than half way there!

We have three exams this week: Pathophysiology: Endocrine, PA Role II, and Radiology. I have already taken my Endocrine exam, which I was dreading. Endocrine is one of my least favorite subjects. I do have to say, the book Pathophysiology made easy is a great book. It really dummies down the subject for you which I appreciate...because I feel like such a dummy when I am learning endocrinology.

As for the other exams, we shall see. The professor for radiology is a very fast teacher. He goes through 200+ slides in an hour and half. I barely get the chance to even understand the picture before he moves on to the next slide.

I know it is only tuesday, but I'm ready to start making some weekend plans.

http://blogs.forbes.com/jacquelynsmith/2011/06/06/the-best-and-worst-masters-degrees-for-jobs/

#1 Baby!

These summer classes are brutally long. It is hard for me to pay attention for 3 hours. Sometimes we will have two 3 hour classes back to back with a break in between. We also will have pathophysiology II either 3 or 4 times a week which is just a lot to handle.

I have found myself taking naps when I get home after school. I am not sure if its because classes mostly start at 8 am in the summer, or if I am physically or just emotionally exhausted from all the things that have happened the last few weeks. I am sure it's a combination of both.

We had two exams this week. Pharmacology III and Physical Diagnosis III. I did well on both. I got a mere 5 hours of sleep last night, so I am just looking forward to getting out of school and running some errands. I need to start my study guides for the 3 exams we have next week.

I went home this past weekend to see my parents, and will actually be going again for fathers day. Luckily the drive is only 2 hours. During these drives, I either let my brain rest, or I listen to the lectures via my laptop. I gets one less lecture I have to listen to while sitting at home. This past weekend when I was home we were assigned to do an epidemiology exam. The class just started last week, and will only last 3 weeks total. I kept reminding myself to do the exam, but got lost in my tracks of doing laundry, packing, and doing the drive back home. It wasn't until the next day that I realized I forgot. I couldn't believe I had forgotten to take an exam. Luckily, one exam grade is dropped, so I will be dropping my 0. I was upset, but you can't cry over spilled milk right?

Thursday, we are learning how to gown and glove. Hopefully, I will have pictures for you all to see. :)

I started working on Cory's dance. I only have about a minute and a half of the dance done, but I know it will turn out well once I finish it and clean it up.

I had to get me TDAP immunization today, my arm feels like it has been punched...but thats okay, if I ever have to give one, then I can tell patients what to expect. The last I got one was in 2004, but the school required one with pertussis.

My three tets went well this week, got all A's...so I will take it.

I just wanted to post some websites we learned about in PA role II today. I thought they were really interesting and would be helpful to some of you out there! :)

AAPA Vital stats
Student Census Survey

This is a question that someone recently asked me in my blog. The answer is yes and no. It depends on the time of the year actually. I graduated from Univ of Tampa, where I was a dance minor. The school has 4 shows a year 2 in the fall, 2 in the spring. Being that I am an alumni, I still get to participate in these shows. I'm sure I could take classes still too, but those often happen during the day while I am in class. The last show I did was in February of this year. Before that, I danced a show in November. I did a ballet piece and I jazz/tap piece. I was stressed about it because I also had 4 exams in the same week of the show. I was in class 8 hrs a day then rehearsal 3 hrs a night then had a test the next morning. I only made a few of the dress rehearsal due to the study time I needed. One choreographer was totally understanding, the other not so much. I love performing, and I think it is probably something I will never get tired of. I will actually be going to the studio on Wednesday to choreograph a dance in memory of Cory's death.  I haven't quite decided on the song yet, but I am definitely looking forward to dancing with one of my male dancer friends and just dancing for Cory.

This is our 4th week in for the summer semester, only 7 weeks left of didactic...Crazy! This week is our first week we have had exams since the semester started...a very rare thing. Normally, we start having exams 2 weeks in.

Monday, we had a pathophysiology exam that covered mostly GI problems. Malabsorption problems, Irritable Bowel Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Peptic ulcer disease, Duodenal ulcers, gastric ulcers, Gallstones, pancreatitis, cirrhosis, and the list goes on. I got an A on the exam, so that made me happy.

Today, we had our pharmacology III quiz over mental health drugs. We normally have a pharmacology quiz every week or 2. There is a total of 4 quizzes, you can drop your lowest quiz grade, then you take the final which I believe is 40% of your grade and around 50 questions. Since we are in pharm III now, and it is the same pharmacologist that teaches it, you know how he asks questions so you can prepare yourself for the exams. Like I said in the previous post, for Pharm II final, I had 18 pages of drug names...not fun!

Tomorrow, I have emergency medicine, which I am worried about, because I haven't even began to study...remember one test at a time...but I am still a little skeptical of how much my brain will hold on 5 hrs of sleep.

One more thing, I went zip lining on Sunday for my best friend in the class birthday! We had so much fun--I will have to post pictures/video.

June 20th, 2010 I quit my job to become prepared for PA school. I took two months off before school started just to have my own time before I would be biting the bullet for PA school. I am glad I did. :) I can't believe it has almost been a year!

Today is just two classes. Research Methods and Pathophysiology II. I am almost done with research methods which is just fine with me. I think I will be finishing the class with a 100% which is a first for me and pretty awesome at the same time. We have been learning things such as the: bell curve, mean, average, mode, standard deviations, stuff like that. Next after this class will be epidemiology.

Pathophysiology is a hard class. Patho I my grades would fluctuate. Some subjects I would ace the tests, others I would get a C or a B. It really depends on how much I like what I am learning. Right now we are learning about GI, Pancreas, and the liver. My study guide is a mere 30 pages and I am almost done going through all of it. My exam is on Monday. Then Pharm exam Tuesday, and Emergency Medicine on Wednesday.

Just another week in PA school!

I am amazed by how many views I have gotten since I have started this blog less than a year ago. I have had 4000+ views and I am so grateful. To make it easier on you guys, you can always press the "follow me" button on the right hand side of this blog. Plus, I would really appreciate it! :)

Due to request, I am going to start writing more about my days in PA school. It might seem mundane to other PA people, but they will get over it.

I am still in shock over Cory's death. Still grieving and can't believe that he is really gone. I wasn't able to make it to the funeral but I will one day go and visit his grave site in Louisiana. I'm trying to deal with it the best way I know...and that is just prayer. I will NEVER get over his death but I will get through it.

It is summer semester now, 11 weeks of class. That is all..then rotations. I still have no idea where they will send me for rotations but I know it is in Gods hands.

Today we had Emergency Medicine and Problem Based Learning aka PBL.
Emergency Medicine is a 3 hour class. Todays lectures included: Syncope (loss of consciousness), Chest pain, and Endocrine. Endocrine is not my favorite and a lot of students find it hard..I will have to agree with most of the students.

Problem Based Learning...oh there is so much I could say about this class. This is our third semester of this class. We break up into groups of four and work on a case scenario. Some days I like it, and some days I hate it. I like working together with people, but it isn't always that everyone participates. Also, it depends on the professor that is presenting the case they may make it more work than it really should be. This week we had to write an entire SOAP note. A little difficult especially if you actually seen the patient or done an actual physical. Plus you are writing it with 3 other people.

Anyways, I have got to run, I just scarfed down my dinner and want to run to church service. I need some Jesus time. I have also got to go over some power points for my pathophysiology exam that is on Monday.